Manchester to get new media tech hub from Allied London

Property developer Allied London has announced plans to create a new media tech hub in Manchester in the former Granada Studios building situated within Manchester’s business district.

By
Sam Shead
| Apr 11, 2014

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Property developer Allied London has announced plans to create a new media tech hub in the Old Granada Studios building situated within the Manchester business district of Spinningfields.

The 16,000 square foot space, to be branded Hello House and open 1 June, will accommodate 300 people working in media start-ups and established media businesses. The building will include a media roof bar and social club designed for press launches and events, which may be opened to the public at weekends.

“We aim to establish a media, tech and innovation proposition at Old Granada that we will nurture and support,” said Allied London chief executive Michael Ingall.

A number of firms have announced their intent to move in, including, Echo PR, magazine Manchester Confidential, radio station Journey9, and two media start-ups.

“Manchester has some great media tech and innovative businesses, some of which will need support to develop,” said Ingall. “If we can create the right ecosystem, the city can develop a much needed proposition.”

The Spinningfields business district was specially developed in the 2000s as a business, retail and residential development of Manchester. Today it is home to tech companies such as Yahoo, Worldpay and Outsourcery.

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However, there is already a well-established centre for media start-ups in nearby Salford, which is largely a result of the BBC opening its media centre there.

An Allied London spokeswoman told Techworld that many start-ups are shunning Salford because they want to be in Manchester city centre, adding that there is now a shortage of office space for tech and media firms in Salford and Manchester.